Red Dawn: A Vincent Valentine one shot
by assassinkarena
Summary: So many things have happened ever since I met him. That one man that had changed my life so much, that I don’t even believe that I would even be here if he wasn’t there for me. I can’t imagine all of the things he’s done for me. All he’s sacrificed...


Red Dawn

A Vincent Valentine one-shot

By: assassinkarena

Dedicated to: Crimson-Rose

So many things have happened ever since I met him. That one man that had changed my life so much, that I don't even believe that I would even be here if he wasn't there for me. I can't imagine all of the things he's done for me. All he's sacrificed for me. Was it all in vein? For what had happened to him? Well, we're both the same now...right? I'm not sure if that's compliment or not. I can't even be sure. All I know is that he's was there for me then. He's here for me now. I just hope that he'll be there for me always...

*****

Beep

Beep

Beep

...

I looked over at the patient that was sitting on the table and wondered what had happened. My eyes stopped at what it was. A man had his fingers on the patient's throat, checking his pulse. It seemed to me that he was doing much more than that...

"Professor," I asked, "What are you doing?"

The man looked up at me, a frown on his face. He did not say anything to me, he just mumbled under his breath and pulled out a clipboard and started to write something down. I eyed him in suspicion but looked back at the computer that was in front of me. I looked at the information in front of me and sighed. Another one of these stupid projects, in my mind I thought they were stupid. Because of what was always the outcome: people normally died. All of the experiments performed by Professor Hojo normally ended with the people dying. They were all tested for the Jenova project that we were all working on. We all worked in a place called Nebelheim; it was a gloomy place that was always so cold. I felt something on my shoulder and I carefully looked at it, feeling that it was slightly warm. My mouth was opened in anticipation as I looked up at the person.

A woman was standing there with her hand on my shoulder. She smiled warmly at me sighed when Hojo finally left.

"It's so good to see you, Naoko." she said as she smiled at me.

My lips were graced with a smile as I replied, "It's so good to see you too, Lucrecia. How are you today?" I asked as I turned my chair so that I could face her.

She shrugged her shoulders and sighed again, "Oh, just the usual."

"That bad, huh?" I asked as I leaned on my chair and pushed back a loosen lock of blonde hair from my face.

"I suppose...Professor Hojo has been calling to me so frequently that I barely have any time to do my own work!" She sighed again. "At least you have something to actually help the people around here. Unlike me, who's stuck with actually doing all of the projects on these poor souls...?"

She looked over at the person that was on the table and then looked at the computer which told how there heartbeat was. It wasn't as steady as it was before Hojo came in. I looked at it too briefly before looking back at her.

"Lucrecia, just wait, you'll have to save someone too someday." I said as I stood up and put my hands on my hips.

Lucrecia looked up at me and smiled brightly, "you really think that I'll be able to?"

"Of course, I promise." I said as I held out my pinkie.

Lucrecia giggled and shook her pinkie with mine, "I know that you'll never break a promise."

"Of course, have I ever?" I asked as I giggled as well as our pinkies hooked together and we shook on it.

We both heard someone coming and our eyes widened. I jumped back onto the chair and started typing something, anything. I wasn't ever sure if they were words; gibberish, all of it. I don't know how many times I pressed the backspace key. Lucrecia was trying to look like she was checking the patient, when really she didn't even know what she was supposed to be checking.

"What are you ladies doing?" Someone asked; he had a low voice.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Hojo standing there, his tall figure towering over us both. Lucrecia had a bead of sweat run down her forehead as she looked at him. She glanced at me quickly and I glanced back at her. Seeing Hojo mad was not the best thing in the world. Because when he gets mad...it's not very pretty. The maddest I've ever seen him was when someone accidentally spilled a chemical onto the floor. Hojo was as red faced as a tomato. He ended up...killing the person. Yes, Hojo had anger issues that everyone knew couldn't be cured with therapy alone.

"I asked-

"Professor, please, they're both doing the best that they can. Don't try and pressure them." said someone from behind him; his tall, brooding figure was coming closer to us. When he stepped fully into the light, I sighed. I didn't know if it was humanly possible for a male to be so...beautiful. But this man definitely was. His tall, lean body was perfect. And his red colored eyes glowed with ember. And his unkempt black hair was long and silky. When he moved it seemed that his hair was a wave of black silver.

Vincent Valentine.

This handsome man was perfect in every human way. I didn't even know if he was human. He was so godly that he seemed inhumanly beautiful. I couldn't even believe that he was working in a dump like this. But, who knew, maybe he wanted to work here. But, why in the world would anyone want to work here? It's a dump...besides all of the technology here.

"Vincent, what in the world are _you_ doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on the other side of the building?" Hojo asked.

"Sir, you asked me to come here two days ago so that we could experiment on a certain person."

Hojo grimaced at Vincent and scoffed, turning away and walking out of the room. We all heard something crash outside in the hallway, and we all guessed that it was Hojo probably throwing something around, _trying_ to get his anger out. Key work: trying.

"I'm sorry about the professor; he's just...a little short fused." Vincent said; his low voice smooth and silky.

"It's alright, by the way, what did the professor want you here? Seriously," Lucrecia asked as she put her hand on her hip.

Vincent turned and looked at the patient that was on the table. "I wasn't lying. We have to experiment on the person today. He wants this person to have Jenova's cells in his body." He turned to us again. "You know how many times he's failed. He just doesn't want to give up. Until he finds someone where their body can be able to control the cells, he'll never stop. He won't stop killing innocent people until he succeeds. Naoko, you should know all about this. You're the one who cure's all of the people, unless their bodies can't handle it and they end up dying. How many people do you see die each day?"

I looked away. I knew how many people did. I didn't like saying how many there were. I wasn't even sure if it was even the right number. I sighed, "Over 100 people."

All three of us looked away from each other and the moment was silent. We didn't exactly know what to say, what was there to say anyways? We all looked away from each other, finding that something in the room was absolutely fascinating. I tried to say something, but my throat seemed to be dry. I couldn't speak.

"Naoko, I need to talk to you later," Lucrecia suddenly said, the clipboard in her hand found the hard surface of a table and she slowly started to walk out. Her long, brown hair was swaying back and forth with every step that she took. She let out a long sigh and then left the room, leaving Vincent and me alone.

"What does she need to talk to you about later?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said, although, I did have some idea of what it was about. "I'll just have to wait and see."

*****

"I see," I whispered, my head bowed low, almost touching my chest. My cerulean blue colored eyes were dimly lighted from the sad news that I just heard. My hands found their way to each other and they twiddled. "Does Vincent know?" I asked.

"No, I don't think that I should tell him. It would break his heart." Lucrecia said as she pressed a key and then the bright blue screen returned to its dull black color. Her gaze was avoided from mine, and I knew that she had a sad heart right now, probably filled with guilt.

"Have you ever thought about telling him?" I asked.

"No, I don't know what I would say to him." She said as she started to walk over to the large cylindrical object in the middle of the room. Nothing filled it, but I knew that something bad once did.

"What if he finds out?" I asked again.

"I don't know, I don't even know what he would do," she started to say then she turned to me, "Do you think that I should?"

"Maybe, I think that it would be the wisest choice." I said as I walked over to the cylindrical object and touched the glass surface of it. I saw a faint reflection of myself and Lucrecia on it. My lips were formed into a frown and my forehead was creased in frustration. Another life taken away by another project, but nothing could be helped. I turned back to Lucrecia and smiled weakly.

"I guess that we'll just have to try and hide it from him, ya know?" I said, walking around the center object.

"I suppose, if he ever finds out, I don't know what he would do," she said as she started to walk out of the room. "Well, I have to go, take care Naoko."

"Yes, you too," I said as I stared up into the glass tube, kind of ignoring her remark. I kept looking into the tube, for some odd reason, I just couldn't take my eyes off of it. It seemed so...horrible to me, but yet at the same time, I felt fascinated by it. Why was that? What Lucrecia had told me should have horrified my such a way that I would probably tell Vincent the second I got out of this room and would have wound up on the floor crying. Yet, why was it so that I couldn't help but want to find out more?

I got straight onto what I wanted to know, going to a nearby computer, I searched up his name: Grimoire Valentine.

I typed it in quickly, wanting to find out who and where this person actually originated from, what was his relationship with his son, Vincent? The computer screen came to life, and I started to search up his name, only a few seconds later, finding out the horrible truth about him. Who's Omega and Chaos? What's the experiment that Grimoire and Lucrecia hid away? What happened to Vincent?

*****

It seemed odd to me, how so much had gone on, and I didn't even know that it existed. So much pain, agony, misery, loneliness was here and I didn't even know about it. I didn't even know how Vincent felt; he didn't even know who his own father was, and not knowing about his own father's death. Why didn't anybody tell me before? It didn't seem to matter now, I knew about it. So what did it matter?

I continued to walk down the dark hallways and everywhere I looked, it seemed as if someone was watching me, someone in the shadows stalking me and watching my every movement. I rubbed my arms to try and subside the goose bumps that began to rise on my pale arms. I let out a long sigh and I noticed that my breath was clearly visible. It came in a white cloud of fog from my mouth and I began to move faster. When did it get so cold around here? My steps began to quicken as I heard footsteps from behind me.

I screamed slightly when I felt a hand come on contact with my shoulder and it turned me around so that I would face.

"Naoko, what's the matter?" the person asked courtly.

I looked at the person more closely, "Vincent?"

"Yes, is something wrong? You look like you've committed a crime." He said as he rubbed my shoulder.

I blushed slightly, looking away from him slightly; I looked over at a corner where some of the plaster was peeling off. I pretended to see designs on them that were not there.

"No, I'm fine," I replied. I quickly pulled my hair behind my ears to try to make up an excuse for not replying. Why did this man have to be so gorgeous?! I twiddled with my thumbs, finding that both of us were not talking.

The next thing I knew, Vincent did the most unthinkable thing imaginable. He stepped next to me, wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and said, "You know, I think that we should go somewhere."

My face was painted with the color red everywhere; butterflies flew around every inch of my stomach and throat, making me not speak. I felt light headed and I thought that I would faint any second now. I mentally slapped myself and smiled weakly at him, the best that I could.

"Um uh, like t-together?" I asked idiotically.

"Of course, what else?" he said, smiling at me.

Oh God, now I thought that I would faint. His smile was perfect, perfect white teeth stood out with a gorgeous gleam and I thought _Oh God, did I die and go to heaven?_ He pulled me to him, against his perfect body and I seriously thought that I was melting in his arms. He chuckled as I accidentally tripped and he held me up by the waist. _What did I do to deserve this?_

*****

He brought me to a field.

A gorgeous field, which by far did not match his beauty, but it's not like I would ever tell him that.

We both talked and sat underneath a tree. It was slightly on a slope and the branches arms dragged on the ground. The feathery grass beneath us tickled our hands and we both laughed frequently. One of us would say something, and then we would both just start laughing for no apparent reason.

I wondered why all of a sudden he wanted to spend time together; I just hoped that he didn't know about the major crushing I had on him. That would be too embarrassing. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if he figured it out, I'm like an open book. That's what Lucrecia had always called me; she knew that I could never keep a secret from her. We're best friends, what else do you expect?

Vincent looked at me, smiling slightly, the small crease on his lips made him light up the surrounding area. God, he was so handsome that I almost couldn't bear it. What was even worse was that he was staring at me! Why in the world was he staring at me! I felt so uncomfortable at the moment that I almost squealed.

"Something wrong, Naoko?" he asked, a slight teasing sound to his voice.

I looked back at him, hiding my face with my knees that were up against my chest. I wrapped my arms around them to keep them up.

"N-No." I whispered quietly.

"You sure?" he asked.

I turned my head and gasped slightly. He was right in front of my face, a confused look on his face, but in his eyes told something different, a teasing little monster that wanted to play. My mouth fell open at his expression, and I continued to blush madly.

Vincent put the palm of his hand on my forehead gently and held it there for a few seconds. I could swear that I was burning up at the moment. I was surprised that I didn't burst into flames.

"I think you have a fever, you're really hot right now. Are you sure that you fell okay?" he asked.

Did he want to torture me?! Did he know that I liked him!? What on God's green earth made him suddenly act like this? What _did_ I do to deserve this? Did I die and then some how had purgatory? I doubt it.

And oh God, did he smell _delicious_! His scent hit me like a battering ram, knowing that I couldn't escape its wonderful temptation. I didn't know such a scent could exist, such a luscious smell that it felt hazy in my mind.

_Out! _I thought _Get this scent out of my head! I don't want it clouding my thoughts!_

Too late for that, his scent, looks, physical being was already trapped within my head. It was like I didn't want it to get out. His scent impelled around my thoughts and it scattered everything around. I felt faint and I thought _How can I deal with this?_

He slid closer to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, shaking me slightly. Was he insane?! Was he _trying_ to kill me?! If he kept this up I don't think that I would be living for much longer. I was too venerable at the moment. I wouldn't even care if he killed me now. Still, he kept taunting me! I felt like I wanted to slap him at the moment; try to rid his thoughts of being so close to me. Then again, did it feel oh, so right. His body curved against mine in such a prefect way that it was like we had been molded together.

"I didn't mean to make you come out here. If I known that you were sick-"

"It's fine Vincent." I practically had to spit out his name. It was if someone were holding me back from saying it. Like, if I said it then something horrible would happen. Out here alone with such a gorgeous man who has a little prowling monster waiting patiently inside, something was definitely bound to happen. I could feel it. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," he said politely. He suddenly stood up and stretched. Then he hitched his hand underneath my knees and the other behind my back and suddenly lifted me.

"Vincent!" I squeaked, my fastest reflexes told me to wrap my arms around his neck. I held myself up and looked up at him, an innocent look on my face. He smiled down at me, his eyes closed.

"I'll take you to your room so you can get some sleep." He said.

"I think that I would much rather go to the doctor." I murmured.

"Nonsense, you doubt my skills at a healing technician!" he exclaimed as he started to walk down the slope back to the building. I looked down and then dug my nose into the crook of his neck, bad thing to do. His smell clouded my thoughts even more. That's it; I knew what he is to me, a drug. A drug that I know I don't ever want to get rid of. And man, did I blush madly.

Vincent moved swiftly, and soon enough we were back in the building. The atmosphere changed dramatically. A cold chill passed up my spine, and I shivered in Vincent's arms. He pulled me tighter to him and I closed my eyes and started to fall asleep on his shoulder. He looked down at me and hurried down the halls.

Soon enough we were in my room. He kicked it gently so that we would be able to get into it, and he walked over to a simple cot in the corner. He walked over to it and swayed slightly so that it would be more comfortable for me. He laid me down softly and covered me up. I looked up at him and smiled lightly. My head still feeling hot and my wonderful headache still not going away. I sighed softly and looked up at Vincent, pretty sure that my blush had still not faded.

Vincent placed his palm on my forehead again and frowned slightly.

"You're burning up. Are you sure that you're okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I said as he got up and walked to a sink. He wet a cloth and came back and folded it up. He put it on my head and I sighed aloud when the cold cloth hit my hot forehead. If only he knew that it was just me blushing because of him, he wouldn't be doing this for me.

"Why are you doing this for me?" I asked.

"Because, you need help." he said, he was hiding something.

"And?"

"I care about you." He said smiling at me, that gorgeous smile again.

I blushed again probably, the cloth on my head probably steaming. I turned my head slightly so that he couldn't see it. Those few words could make me this way. How? How could he make me this way; I knew that I had some type of infatuation with him that would probably never go away, but that's always the fun of it, crushing on someone.

Sometimes I always think of it as more than an infatuation, because it's like there's more to it than meets the eye. There's more to him that he's hiding, but he just won't tell anyone. I don't even think that he would tell me. A measly blonde girl who has a huge OCD with him who would probably tell the whole world about it? I doubt it.

"Do you need anything?" he asked.

"No thank you. I'm perfectly fine," I insisted.

He doubted me again and he got up again, going to the sink. He got a glass of water and filled it up until he could spill some of it out just by tipping it a little. He walked back over and lifted my upper body up so that he could tip the glass to my lips just enough before water spilled.

"Here, drink," he commanded.

"Really, I'm fine-"

"Drink."

I hesitated before I opened my mouth. Surprised by my own actions, I started to drink down the water greedily. Before long, it was empty and Vincent left and returned with more. Once again I drank it down like I was the thirstiest woman on the planet. I sighed when the cool water flowed down my throat and chilled my throat, it was if the burning sensation had gone away and it was never there. But the faint outline of a waiting emotion still sat waiting patiently in my throat.

I hated saying it, and I didn't want to but it came out anyways, "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" he said cheerfully. He smiled down at me and put the cup down on the table that was besides my bed. I looked at him, wary.

"Why did you suddenly decide to ask me to go someplace with you," I asked, knowing that it was another one of those questions that I would regret being answered later.

"Because, can't a I ask someone to just talk with me? I didn't know that it was illegal..."

"No, no, it's not that! It's just that I didn't expect you do so, so...suddenly!" I said, I tried to hide the blush on my face again by putting my hair at the side of my face, flaunting it off at him. I didn't want him to focus on my face, it made me to nervous.

"Well then, I'll plan ahead. Like right now," he said. I looked at him, a little stunned for words, "How about tomorrow at the same place at twelve noon. We can have lunch together." He smiled at me.

God his smile is beautiful, almost _too _beautiful. Why did he have to be so...inhumanly godly?! That's just not fair to the rest of the people on this planet! It just makes us feel worse about ourselves...

"So? It's a date?" he suddenly said, grinning at me slyly.

My face turned beat red and it was possible that I could have fainted right then and there, but I somehow held myself up, and I looked at him, his crimson colored eyes enthralling me. I couldn't escape.

"S-Sure..." I replied, having something come out of my throat.

"Great, so then I see you soon!" he said happily, walking to the door and going out.

Immediately I fell back, dazed, smiling, happy, furious (because I couldn't believe myself that I said yes), and somehow confused. My blush was beginning to fade away thank goodness, but I don't know if I could ever stand up again.

_What did I do to deserve this...?_

*****

Things went so well between the two of us since that one day. We actually talked to each other and my huge infatuation for him seemed to go away...but replaced with a bigger one instead. I found myself falling for him actually. Like something inside me just wanted to hold his hand, ran my fingers through his hair and kiss him. Wait - whoa did I just think that? Why in the world would I think _that?_ That's too...I couldn't even think of the word. But oh boy did I want to kiss him, his soft, perfect lips on mine; that would be heaven for me.

"How are you feeling? You seem better than last time." Vincent said as he leaned back against the tree that we were resting on. I sat next to him, trying to not to breathe, hoping that if I didn't, his smell would be blocked out of nose and not trapped in my mind. Still, it was inadequate.

Suddenly he did something very surprising, his arm wrapped around my shoulder and he scooted closer to me. All hard tries at not feeling like a red hot chili pepper went out the window when he did this. He pulled my shoulder so that my head would rest on his shoulder and God, this was heaven. I knew that I died and here I was, being held tightly against a gorgeous man, the gorgeous man that I have dreamed about for months.

"I suppose..." I said, trying to think of something before I fainted again. I didn't want this moment to end.

"Watch, when the sun peaks over the horizon it's so beautiful." He said, pointing out to the hill that was maybe a mile away. I did as I was told and watched as the darkness was beginning to fade. Sweet, warm, rays wrapped a protective blanket around the two of us as the sun peaked over. Truly, it was beautiful. I couldn't deny the fact that it was. The wonderful sun shinned brightly, and I was so thankful. Being with Vincent in the dark wasn't the most comforting. The reason: I was afraid I might lose him.

"Beautiful..." I drawled.

"Yes you are," he whispered, he looked at me.

My head snapped towards him, my mouth ajar. Did I just hear those words come out from his mouth? From _his_ mouth?!

"What?" I asked, not believing what he said. I couldn't, why would I? Why should I?

He was silent for a moment; his head tilted only the slightest bit, looking at me with those strange, crimson eyes. He was too silent, why wouldn't he speak? My eye lids began to drop downwards, and suddenly, I felt very confused. My blue eyes were grey, almost like a cloud. I wasn't just answered, I was physically touching something, and that something was his lips which he pressed against mine. So soft to the touch, heat was between us, and a promise spoke between our lips without words.

So soft...so delicate...so perfect...

That's all I thought as we kissed. Wait - kissed? We're kissing? Okay, yeah, kill me know. Actually don't; just leave me here for the rest of my life like this. Warm lips pressed against mine, and an arm wrapped around me tightly felt like I was protected, like I didn't even have to care about the rest of the world anymore.

My body was tugged against his as he lowered his arm that was around my shoulder to my abdomen. I whimpered underneath his touch. He was so experienced with this and I felt like I was a three year old being taught what a circle was. His tongue traced along my lower lip, asking. I responded, not really sure what was going to happen, but when it did, I was a little shocked. I leaned back a little, he whispered something that I couldn't quite comprehend and then leaned forward again. He did it again and I didn't back down, I pressed back, I forced mine into his and I rubbed his tongue against mine, so sensual he was.

My mind was a in a complete daze. I couldn't even remember my own name. I didn't know how my body was moving on its own, but it was. And it was doing something that I didn't even know was legal. He curved his hand over my shoulder and my black leather jacket began to slip off, revealing my white skin. His hand glided over my skin, no more than a whisper. My hand came up to his arm, the one that was touching mine, and gripped on it lightly. My head tilted on its own and I found a new depth to his mouth as did he to mine.

I didn't know this feeling, but I loved it. I didn't really know what it was, yet at the same time, I did know what it was.

Love.

*****

It was horrible that day. That one day that I still fear most. The day that my lover died.

One day when I was working in my regular room, I heard something; something sharp, dangerous, deathly, a shot.

I jumped out of my seat to see what was wrong. Slamming open the doors, I heard something, someone...It was laughter...Who would laugh at something so dangerous? Then realization hit me: Hojo.

My legs never ran faster as I ran down to Hojo's office.

"Almost there..." I breathed out, my breath becoming labored. I saw the door, half open and a dim light coming out of it. My breath suddenly stopped as I came to a stop and placed my hand on the door knob. The laughing was pounding in my ears, and another woman was crying. Lucrecia...Hojo...What was wrong?

I slammed open the door and I wish that I didn't. On the floor, that delicate creature sprawled on the floor. His black suit was wrinkled as he twitched, his crimson eyes beginning to fade, his pale face becoming even paler if possible. His eyes began to close, and I was afraid that they would never open again.

"No!" I screamed, Hojo continued to laugh, his head was thrown back, and he continued to cackle. His laughs echoed through the halls. Lucrecia quickly bent down and felt his pulse...it was barely there.

"Naoko, help me!" she yelled as she began to pick him up.

"You'll never be able to help him! AHAHAHA!" Hojo shrieked. He casually walked out of the room, laughing along the way though.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

Suddenly I started coughing. What was happening to me? I looked down and away from Vincent and I saw a crimson colored liquid come out of my mouth. Blood, my blood. But what was wrong with me? I wasn't the one who got shot!

"Naoko? What's wrong?" Lucrecia asked as she put a hand on my shoulder.

I couldn't reply to her, and I didn't know why. But the blood kept coming out of my mouth. My body became a puddle on the floor as I scrunched up on the floor and held myself. The liquid kept coming out and my blonde hair was stained with it. A little got onto my face and I coughed again.

"No! Why didn't you tell me about this, Naoko?" She yelled at me. Her tears began to run down my face and I heard a faint sound. I was blacking out. But the words that I could hear were a male's voice, Vincent's voice.

"Save...her..."

*****

Nothing could be heard expect for my breath, but even that came out in some sort of odd sound. It sounded as if it were bubbles. I couldn't feel anything. I was totally numb and the feeling around me was something that I never could have experienced in my life. It was cold, yet hot at the same time, and I couldn't quite comprehend it. I tried opening my eyes, but I couldn't. Where was I?

"Just a little bit longer Naoko," someone whispered. I could hear her voice, and I knew who it was. It was Lucrecia. But why did she seem so far away?

"Lucrecia?" I tried saying, another bunch of bubbles from my mouth.

"Almost done..." she said again, I kept hearing beeping and tapping sounds until she shouted, "There!"

At that moment I could have sworn that I died. It felt painful all over my body as it traveled through my veins, pulsating with such power that my veins could have just popped open. I screamed, but only a watery substance filled my mouth and the bubbles came from my mouth again. My eyes were still closed and they became tighter with every second that passed me by as I felt this new power surge through me. What was it? Whatever it was, I hated it. I squirmed, and I shook, I cried out in agony to make it stop, but for some reason, it just wouldn't. Why wouldn't she make it stop?

"Almost there, Naoko, just a little bit longer..." she said.

I didn't know how to feel, anger, happy, depressed, what one did I feel? It was if I didn't feel anything at the moment. I tried to cry, but my tears just wouldn't come out, and I didn't know why.

"Please stop..." I tried to say, but only bubbles came out.

And it did, suddenly, it just stopped, I didn't know why, but there was no way that I was complaining!

"There we go Naoko, you're all done. You're gonna live..." Lucrecia said. What did she mean by that? There was no way for me to find out. I opened my eyes, finding that I could do it now.

"Lucrecia?" I asked, I looked down at her.

"Yes Naoko, you're still alive, you're going to live!" she said happily.

I'm going to live? Was I about to die? What's wrong with me then? I didn't know what could be wrong with me, but I sighed, let the bubbles come out and drifted off into anywhere but here.

*****

It was such an odd feeling that I've had all these years, all these years that I've always had this regret on my shoulders that I knew that I could never be rid of. I didn't even know why all of it had to happen, it just did. Why couldn't I explain the reason why? The answer: I didn't even have one. I wasn't even sure if my absolute self was able to grasp the realization of the world around me, and what it has become, what has become of me?

I didn't even feel whole anymore. I've been living for so many years, watching other people pass me by, and not feel anything as they all looked at me with sad faces, others with angry, and others who just stand and stare then continue walking. I always gaze up at them, I try not to glare, but how come it's so easy not to? It' just become so natural for me, I don't have a whole life anymore. It's been nothing but a mistake. I've lost the ones that I cherish most. I don't even know who I really am anymore, and I've no place to go. It's been such a disaster for me, and I don't think that I'll even be able to change that fact.

I lay in the forest now, trying to forget my past, dreading my present, and fearing my future, because, I'm not even sure if I'll survive that. I'm not even sure if I want to though. I gaze up at the sparkling lights around me, the little balls of light that surround me in a beautiful pattern. But this forest is dying, its leaves have fallen and its bark is white and grey. The branches stick out like arms from the people of the dead, and I'm afraid to touch them, yet it's the only comfort that I have now. There's no one here that I remember, and I've tried to search for them, yet never found any of them.

I keep wondering to myself if they are ever looking for me, of course I hope that, yet it's impossible. I should be dead now with my best friend; I look up and see her, embedded in the tree, trapped within crystals that shall forever hold her. Her long brown hair hasn't changed, her face hasn't changed, and my sadness hasn't changed. It never will either. I can't find anyone from my past, and I miss all of the terribly.

I heard a roaring sound, and looked behind me. A metallic sound was humming, and a bike came zooming right by me. The person stopped his bike and looked at me. I probably looked like rags, my clothes were torn, and the black cape was really my new article of clothing. My black jacket was torn at the sleeves, and my leather pants had holes in them. My cape flowed around me and wrapped me up in warmth; it was the only thing I had to keep myself warm. The hood lazily was on my back at the moment and I looked up at the person.

A blue eyes man in black clothes was looking straight at me. His blonde spiky hair defied gravity and his face held an emotion of two things: depression and regret. His eyes locked with mine and the only noise was the soft vibrating of his waiting bike. He turned it off and rose off of it. Letting it stand on its own he walked over to me, knelt down and gazed hardly at my face.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." I said back.

He was quiet; it seemed that this was normal for him. He looked back at the woman in the crystals and looked hardly back at me.

"What are you doing here? I came here for my own reasons." He said.

"Then I came here for my own." I said back.

He didn't like the countering that I gave him and he scoffed silently, although he didn't mean to be rude. I shouldn't be acting like this; I never was like this year's ago.

I stood up and my cape flowed down around me and covered my entire body till it was partially on the forest floor.

"I'm sorry for my rudeness." I said to him as he looked back at me.

"Then are you going to answer my question?" he asked politely.

"I'm only here because it's the only place I have." I said as I looked at Lucrecia, her face was still calm, even though she was dead and trapped within something that she could never get out.

"Why?" he asked.

"I have no where else to go."

"You seem like someone who's lost someone dear to them, who is it?" he said quietly.

"Her..." I said after a while.

He looked up at Lucrecia and narrowed his eyes as he turned back to me.

"Get on." He said as he hopped back onto his bike.

I looked at him confused a little bit; then decided to go with him. If he could take me someplace that had a roof overtop, then thank you God.

*****

At first I was a little scared, because this was my first time riding on a bike. I clung to his back like I was going fall off and die. My arms were securely wrapped around his waist, and I clung to him like a leech. He smiled lightly at this and sighed softly as he watched the road again, only looking at me for a brief second.

We were out of the forest, and we were going into a new town, a town that I recognized. I had a bad feeling, yet, at the same time, it told me to press on. Like something good was going to happen.

"What's your name?" the man suddenly asked.

"Naoko Gearheart," I yelled over the roaring bike.

He chuckled slightly then yelled back, "Cloud Strife."

"Great, so where are we going?" I yelled, he swerved suddenly and I squeaked a little bit. I haven't made that sound for years! It felt good to get it out again; my old self was coming out again.

"We're going to my home, the Seventh Heaven." He yelled back again.

"Isn't that a bar?" I asked, a little afraid now.

"Yeah, we don't get that much business though, don't be afraid."

I rested my head against his back and sighed out loud. Even though this man seemed younger than me, he was still bigger than me, which scared me a little. I was 26, and he seemed to be only 20 or 21. Maybe even younger than that! Yet, he was so matured for his age.

We drove through a few more streets and suddenly stopped. He looked up, I did as well, only with one eye because I didn't want to have to remove me face from his back. It seemed as if he would start the bike again and drive off, me falling off backwards and dying.

"Come on, don't be afraid." He said as he got off, he took my hands from around his waist and pried them off. As soon as I got off, he leeched onto his arm again and he chuckled slightly. My blonde hair was a complete mess, all tangled as we were driving in the wind. I tried to brush it out with my fingers, and some of it worked. The other part of it didn't...

"Come on, time to meet the family." He said as he opened up the door.

I was welcomed by a loud "Hi!" from another girl. She took me from Cloud and shook my hand with accidental force.

"Hi, I'm Yuffie! I'm the greatest ninja ever!" she started off going into this spree that I didn't know was capably human.

I tried to shake back, but she was a little bit too fast.

"So who are you?" she asked.

This girl, I already liked, perky, bubbly, caring, but already I knew that she could kick some serious ass if she wanted to.

"I'm Naoko." I said back to her, finally able to shake back.

"Cool!" then she disappeared, running off somewhere.

"Sorry about her, I'm Tifa."

I turned and looked at the person who said it. A woman with black hair, almost white skin, pearl earrings, black clothes and powerful looking arms came up to me and stuck out her hand.

"I'm Naoko." I said, a little quieter of course since Yuffie was gone, but still was my regular self; meaning, my old self was coming back out.

"Tifa, I need to talk to you." Cloud said as he came from behind me and walked back with Tifa. They went behind the counter and started whispering something. Tifa brought her hand to her mouth and gasped slightly, turned to me quickly and the looked back at Cloud just as quick. She walked back out of the room, upstairs somewhere and then disappeared.

"Naoko, come with me, let's go back to the forest again." Cloud said to me as he grabbed my hand and then led me back out of the building, onto his bike again and then began to drive off to the forest again.

*****

Cloud simply told to wait there, wait at that same spot that I was in before he came and picked me up. I looked at him confusingly, but then nodded in agreement. He promised that someone would come back for me, and I trusted him on that.

And so I waited. I waited and waited for who knows how long. Hours it seems like, the day turned into twilight, and twilight was beginning and dawn was going to crack over soon. I continued to look at Lucrecia and nodded my head, my eye lids were beginning to close and a tear slipped from my eye. Did Cloud lie to me? Why would he do that? I stood up and walked a few feet away from where Lucrecia was and I just stared at her calm face. The hood over my head hid my eyes, thank goodness. I didn't want her to see the tears that I was crying, partially for her, partially for Cloud, and partially for him.

How I longed for him. I want to see him again. I don't know if I could go on living without him. I could die from the agony that he's been causing me, for him not being able to see me. Was this what love brought? Depression, anger, fear, emotions could be never ending for this simple word which held so much meaning to it, so much power in this simple word which I used to have.

I heard a rustle nearby and my body stiffened. I didn't dare move. My breath was held shut and I heard the rustling again. Who was it? Please tell me it was Cloud, or...at least a friend of his. I prayed.

Footsteps.

I heard footsteps behind me and I didn't move, I didn't want to look behind me. I was afraid of what I was going to see.

"Who are you?"

My breath caught short in my throat as I recognized the voice, his deep velvety voice, so smooth, so hypnotic, so mysterious. I wanted to, but I didn't want this dream to end. What if I turned and then just realized that it was all a dream, that it was nothing more than my imagination. I didn't want it to end now.

I heard the person come closer and my heart started to pound harder in my ear, and it felt like my heart was rising to my throat. What if he wasn't just a dream, what if he _was_ real? I could only hope, and I slowly began to turn, torturing myself along the way, knowing that when I did this, that my dream would fade away.

My breath caught, my heart sped up and pounded in my ears ever louder. It was him. He was standing there in front of me. There he was! Oh my dear Lord, he was there! Vincent!

"Vincent..." I managed to whisper out, I could barely speak; that was the only word that I could speak out. My heart wouldn't allow any other word.

He didn't say anything, couldn't or wouldn't, I didn't know which one. I knew that he knew something that I didn't. Did he recognize that it was me?

He slowly walkup to me boldly and he started to tremble when he reached me, not even a foot away from me. His hands began to shake immensely as he reached up for my hood. But again, he boldly flipped it off my head slowly. He took a step back and gasped slightly when he saw me completely and I saw him completely.

There he was; his godly and gorgeous self. The love of my life was standing right in front of me. His hair had grown longer, and it was still unkempt. There was a red cloth wrapped around his forehead, and bits of his hair stuck out. I looked down more; his crimson eyes were still the same color, just not the same emotion. Right now though, they were overflowing with sadness and happiness at the same time, although I didn't know how that was possible. His clothes were a bit different, a ragged deep red cloak over black clothes, but it covered up half of his face. His left arm below his elbow is covered with a metal claw. A gun holster was at his side which held a triple-barrel revolver.

I sighed out loud and pursed my lips together. There he was, standing right in front of me, brooding over me and staring down. His eyes still told me the mixture of emotion that was flowing through his veins, and I knew that he was so happy right now. I knew it. I wonder what my eyes told him. I hope that I didn't seem too desperate to him.

But it didn't matter; he was standing there in front of me, with a warm expression. He started to take another step towards me and I did to him. He embraced me warmly, held me so tight against him, afraid that I might leave him. I did the same to him. He kissed my head over and over again, placing his warm lips on the top of my head and going down to my forehead. His right hand stroked my hair and the other was at the small of my back. I dug my head into his chest and continued to hug him tightly around his stomach.

"Vincent, Vincent, Vincent...oh Vincent," I whispered in his chest as I took in his scent, the haze came back after so many years. The scent that I yearned for.

"Naoko, I'm here, I'm here." He said to me, whispering into my head. He kissed my cheek and moved his hands to the sides of my face.

Without a further question, he kissed me. Glorious, exotic, sensual, words that described the feelings that mixed between us. His lips moved against mine, and mine were trembling. I was so, so happy right now. My lips were trembling with anticipation, trembling with temptation that I gave into.

I kissed him back, standing on my tiptoes just so that I could wrap my arms around his neck and be level with him. His arms came down around my waist again and he lifted me up. Twirling me around and around. I pulled back a little bit and smiled at him. Both of us laughed, both of us hugged, both of us kissed.

What could be any better? My love was right in front of me, everything was back in place. I had a home to go to, and I was not alone anymore. What could be any better? Nothing, that was it. Nothing. Vincent holding me in his arms was Cloud Nine for me, and I didn't ever want to leave it.

*****

I don't know why you left me

Or why you broke my heart

But you made me fall in love with you

And then you had to part  
I've been dreaming of you

And hoping you'd come back

And I've searched for you

But couldn't find your track

I tried to stop thinking of you

But I'm still in love

And stopping is so hard to do

When I'm afraid I need

To give up hope

And when I'm ready to turn my back

On what I love the most

You come back to me

And I start to cry

With the tears filling my eyes

And for the first time

Since you' had left

I'm so happy

'Cause now you're back

14


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